Arbitrary Arrest and Enforced Disappearance of Mr. Osman Ibrahim

July 24, 2007

Re: Arbitrary Arrest and Enforced Disappearance of Mr. Osman Ibrahim

To: His Excellency Lieutenant General Omar Hassan al-Bashir

From: Joseph Hoffer, LRWC

Date: 2007-07-24

In cooperation with the World Organization Against Torture and the International Federation for Human Rights, I am writing to request on behalf of Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada that you direct the immediate review of the enforced disappearance and arbitrary arrest of Mr. Osman Ibrahim.

We are writing to urge you and your government to do the following:

1. Guarantee in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Osman Ibrahim;

2. Please take prompt action in order to locate Mr. Osman Ibrahim, make public his whereabouts and ensure his immediate release;

3. Put an end to all acts of harassment against all Sudanese human rights defenders;

4. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on human rights defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998 and especially its Article 1 which states that “ everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection ands realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels” and Article 12.2 which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”; and

5. More generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with international and regional human rights instruments ratified by Sudan.

Your attention and prompt action to locate and make public the whereabouts of Mr. Osman Ibrahim is critical. Please take immediate steps to address these matters.